Apocalyptic story more interested in shooting guns than character development

Falling on the heels of 'The Road,' here is a similarly themed vision of a post-apocalyptic dystopia where cannibals and criminals make up what's left of the human species. Survivalist extraordinaire Eli (Denzel Washington) is a loner badass with a Bible, and if that isn't good enough for an audience to empathize with, then the exit doors are located at the front and rear of the cinema. Grade: C.

Robert Zemeckis stuggles to bring soul to his animated take on Dickens' classic

Robert Zemeckis' remake of Charles Dickens' 'A Christmas Carol' follows on the heels of 'The Polar Express' and 'Beowulf' and strives to bring real human three-dimensional aspects to the characters, ideally to move us beyond video game-styled computer generated images. But Zemeckis and his crew have struggled to fully render soulful eyes complete with an intangible sense of movement behind the reflective surfaces. Grade: C-plus.